PGA National Luxury Homes Blog

Today I had the honor of speaking with Mr. Dick Farkas – a starter at one of the three beautiful golf courses located within BallenIsles. To date he’s held this position longer than anyone else there. Dick’s been working here for over 17 years and is 93 years young! We sat in his golf cart located near the first tee on the North course. (He told me this was his favorite course…but don’t tell anyone.)

I took his picture with a couple from Germany that had just arrived “home” for the season. They told Dick they couldn’t wait to play their first game of the season and arrived right before the end of his shift. Dick told me this isn’t typical that he rarely starts golfers after 1:00PM. What really touched me was how Dick instantly jumped out of the cart to greet his “friends” and they all hugged. I felt left out so I got out to take a picture of the three of them!

Dick’s love for the BallenIsles members, the community as a whole and the game of golf are evident. I asked him how many people he greets on a slow day and on a busy one. He told me it could be anywhere between 60-185 people during his shift. He looked at me and said “and I know them almost all by name unless they just moved in”. We talked, and laughed, for almost thirty minutes. At one point I said “Dick you are so popular” and he told me that he thinks people like him because he always smiles and never complains. His birthday was in August and he was overwhelmed by how many people wished him a happy birthday, made signs for his golf cart and some even gave him gifts. Clearly when it comes to customer service, golfers at Ballenisles can do no better. According to Dick “it’s all about giving our members a friendly positive attitude while providing them with the best possible experience”. From what I can see – he gets an A++.

Dick can be found on the course five days a week between 7:00 am through 2:00pm. The next time you see him, if you haven’t already, please be sure to say hello. Tell him Penny sent you.